Time Management (4)

3-Being On Time and Meeting Deadlines

These two qualities are manifested in Islamic teachings in many forms. First, as I mentioned in a previous article, all Islamic worship acts are strictly tied to time. Consider the prayer again as an example. Allah says "Verily, As-Salah (the prayer) is enjoined on the believers at fixed hours." Quran: Chapter 4, verse 103. It was also narrated that when prophet Muhammad peace and blessings be upon him was asked about the best of deeds, he answered "praying in the beginning of the time." (Hadeeth from At-Termethi). Also, fasting is limited by specific times: the dawn and the sunset (Quran: Chapter 2, verse 187). If you eat after dawn or before sunset by even one minute, you are not considered to be fasting according to the Islamic teachings. One of the purposes of having worship acts strictly tied to specific time of the day is to teach the muslim believer to be always on time.

Second, it is highly recommended to keep your promises. Allah praises those who keep their promises: "And mention in the Book (the Quran) Ismail (Ishmael). Verily, he was true to what he promised, and he was a Messenger, (and) a Prophet." Quran: Chapter 19, verse 54. The prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) also warned us strongly from not keeping our promises. He said "The signs of the hypocrite are three: if he talks, he lies, if he promises, he does not keep his promise, and if he is trusted, he betrays."(Authentic Hadeeth narrated by Al-Bukhari and Muslim.) Being a hypocrite is really a very serious problem if we take into consideration what Quran says about hypocrites: "The Hypocrites will be in the lowest depths of the Fire; no helper wilt thou find for them. " Quran: Chapter 4, verse 145.

If you gave a promise to finish something before a deadline or if you give a promise to meet someone at a certain time, do not take it lightly. It is a very serious sin not to keep your promise.

Time Management (3)

2-Being Balanced in Dividing Your Time

Narrated Abu Juhaifa (one of the companions of prophet Muhammad peace be upon him): The prophet made a bond of brotherhood between Salman and Abu Ad-Dardaa. Salman paid a visit to Abu Ad-Dardaa and found Umm Ad-Dardaa (his wife) dressed in shabby clothes and asked her why she was in that state. She replied, "Your brother Abu Ad-Dardaa is not interested in (the luxuries of) this world." In the meantime Abu AdDardaa came and prepared a meal for Salman. Salman requested Abu Ad-Dardaa to eat (with him), but Abu Ad-Dardaa said, "I am fasting (voluntarily)." Salman said, "I am not going to eat unless you eat." So, Abu Ad-Dardaa ate (with Salman). When it was night and (a part of the night passed), Abu Ad-Dardaa got up (to offer the volunteer night prayer), but Salman told him to sleep and Abu Ad-Dardaa slept. After sometime Abu Ad-Dardaa again got up but Salman told him to sleep. When it was the last hours of the night, Salman told him to get up then, and both of them offered the night prayer. Salman told Abu Ad-Dardaa, "Your Lord has a right on you, your own self has a right on you, and your family has a right on you; so you should give the rights of all those who has a right on you." Abu-Ad-Dardaa came to the prophet peace and blessing be upon him and narrated the whole story. The prophet said, "Salman has spoken the truth."
Narrated by Al-Bukhari in his book of authentic hadeeths

It is of extreme importance to keep balanced in dividing our time between the different tasks we have to do and between the rights of our Lord, the rights of our own selves and the rights of our family. This does not contradict with the fact that in Islam, we are seeking pleasing Allah by all our actions.

In the hadeeth mentioned above, Abu Ad-Dardaa was an example of an imbalanced believer by allocating all his time and effort in worship acts and neglecting the right of himself to get enough rest and food and neglecting the right of his wife to spend time with her. This example is rare in our days. However, we can still see many imbalanced people. Some people spent most of their time at work. They do not give their families their rights by spending very little time with them. This is not the right way to manage your time. You have to be balanced: have time to work, time to worship, time to spend with the family, time to sleep and time to have fun. Being balanced will certainly enhance your productivity and help you to achieve the tasks you have to achieve much more efficiently.

What will happen if you are imbalanced? The simple and straightforward answer is: You will be successful in one or two things and you will lose everything else. If you do not sleep enough, you will lose your health. If you do not work enough, you will lose your wealth. If you do not worship enough, you will lose your hereafter. If you do not spend enough time with your family, you will lose them. We experience in our lives many successful people whose children are not as successful.

In summary, being balanced helps you to be happy and successful in many aspects at the same time.

Time Management (2)

1-Importance of Having a Daily Routine and Arranging Certain Tasks at Specific Times Everyday:

God (Allah in Arabic) says in Quran: "Verily in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and in the alteration of night and day, there are indeed signs for men of understanding. Those who remember Allah (God) standing, sitting, and lying down on their sides, and think deeply about the creation of the heavens and the earth, (saying): 'Our Lord! You have not created all this without purpose, glory to You! Give us salvation from torment of fire." Quran: chapter 3, verses 190,191

Allah also says: "And We have made your sleep as a thing for rest. And We have made the night as a covering (through its darkness), And We have made the day for livelihood." Quran: chapter 78, verses 9-11.

Allah has created for us the day and the night. He made them repeat after each other. Allah has a wisdom behind this. We are encouraged to think deeply about this wisdom as was pointed in the first group of verses mentioned above. One wisdom that Allah clarifies for us in the second group of verses is to arrange our tasks in day and night. Allah made the night for rest and the day to work in. If this is the case with the overall day and night, then we can follow the same pattern in the hours of the day and the hours of the night. We can divide the hours of the day on tasks that are commonly repeated everyday. For example: We can work every day from 9:00AM to 5:00PM. We can eat everyday at specific times, e.g. before we leave to work and after we come from work. There are many other examples but the main point from these examples is to show that we are recommended to have a daily routine in our lives to make the best use of our time.

Allah arranged for us our prayers (Salah) at specific times during the day. This is repeated every day. Allah says in Quran: "Verily, As-Salah (the prayer) is enjoined on the believers at fixed hours." Quran: Chapter 4, verse 103. The five prayers are obligatory on each muslim to perform every day at fixed times. This is to teach us to have a daily routine and arrange our other tasks daily around the prayer times.

In conclusion, the universe around us, our body needs and our worship acts as muslims teach us to have a daily routine to be more productive.

Time Management (1)

Time is the most precious resource that a human being has. It is much more valuable than money. Money can come and can go. When Time goes, it can not come back.

In Islamic teachings, time takes even more importance. Its importance comes from the saying of the prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him): "No servant will leave his place on the day of resurrection till he is asked about his lifespan how did he use it, his knowledge what did he do with it, his wealth where did he get it from and how did he spend it, and his body how did he use it" (Authentic Hadeeth from At-Termethi) So one of the four top things that any human being will be asked about is his lifespan or in other words his time, how did he use it? Did he benefit from it or did he waste it? Did he arrange the priorities correctly or did he use most of his time in less important things? Did he balance his time between his various duties or did he put bigger chunks of time for his self pleasure? All these questions among others are currently discussed in a branch of knowledge known as "Time Management".

This article is the first article in a series of articles that will be published on this blog about "Time Management". The articles will discuss time management from the islamic point of view and from the point of view of researchers who studied it. The recommendations for effective time usage will be explored and compared to reflections on the creation. I argue that we can learn many of the time management concepts from the creation around us.